Author to host local 3-D event as part of national art project
Douglas Coupland likens the printing process to ‘the arrival of TV in the 1940s’
Calgarians can get a glimpse of the future as part of a project called 3DCanada by having their faces scanned and receiving their own miniature 3-D-printed bust.
This crowd-sourced art initiative takes place at the newly opened Simons in The Core Shopping Centre on March 31 from noon to 5 p.m. and it is on a firstcome, first-serve basis.
Author Douglas Coupland will be hosting 3DCanada. Coupland is a Canadian artist and novelist best known for popularizing the term ‘generation X’, which is taken from his debut novel of the same name.
Q: How and why did you get involved in 3DCanada?
A: Simons opened a new store in Vancouver not far from where I live, and they commissioned a sculpture for the store. During the process, I became friends with Peter Simons, CEO of Simons, and his staff. I had just purchased a 3-D printer for my studio and had done quite a few studies of heads.
One afternoon, Peter and I were discussing the future of portraiture, and the idea of group portraiture came up. We decided on the spot this would be a good project for Simons, which is now a national company, and this is a work that marks that transition.
Q: What will the event entail?
A: We invite people in the communities where Simons stores are located to come and get scanned by me. Calgary is the seventh location, with previous events having taken place in Quebec City, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver, Mississauga and Ottawa.
Q: What should people expect?
A: (They should expect) to have a good time and come away from it with a small 3-D bust of themselves. For most people, it’s the first time they’ve ever seen the process live. It’s like the arrival of TV in the 1940s. “What’s that? 3-D printing? Ooh ... I’ve heard about that.” People love it.
Q: How are people’s faces scanned?
A: (They’re scanned) with a small attachment added onto an iPad. The subject has to sit still for about 30 seconds while we circle them. Future iPhones and Androids will all have scanners built in.
Q: How are these mini-busts created?
A: They’re printed there in the store on printers made by Tinkerine of Vancouver. Because of the volume of people, we take their address and name and mail it to them, or they can come back to the store the following day and pick it up themselves.
Q: What is the goal of this event?
A: Eventually, I’ll be producing a national group portrait, which will be installed in a future Simons store. I hope people will have a good time and enjoy their first experience with this sort of printing.
Q: What future do you see for this technology?
A: The printers and the filament they print with are now becoming insanely cheap. Soon enough, most people will have one or more in their homes.